Warning to Pet Owners About Dog Treats

An anguished Ohio woman is offering a warning to pet owners after losing a dog to kidney failure caused by contaminated dog treats.

Candace Thaxton said her family was forced to put down their 10-year-old Pug, Chaunsey after feeding their dogs Waggin’ Train Jerky Tenders.

“She started vomiting, she started having diarrhea. I took her into the vet on Saturday, November 12th, and on Monday, the blood tests came back that she was in kidney failure,” said Thaxton.

To make matters worse, just a few days after Chaunsey’s death, their five-month-old puppy, Penny, went into renal failure.

“I feel like I poisoned both of my dogs. I know that it’s not my fault. But I basically handed them poison. Because that’s what I did,” cried Candace. “Although everyone tells me it’s not my fault, it’s sad seeing my pug go through it and then watching my puppy go through it. And I don’t want anyone else to go through it,” said Candace.

Reports of illnesses in dogs have spiked dramatically since the FDA issued warnings about chicken jerky products made in China, and pet owners are urged to pay close attention to the country of origin when purchasing dog treats.

Chansey died Nov 14th a week later we got the pup a friend gave us her (HE PAID $350) the two ate different foods, different breeds and the only thing in common was the treats, on Dec 31st I seen the warning and bells went off so I took the bag & treats to the vet and on Tue (Holiday) he told me he thinks I was right that everything on there fit the Pug, I told him the Puppy ate them too and wasn’t having any signs and I quit as soon as I seen the warning on 12/31, I called WT and opened a case on the Pug and told them about the Puppy, and two nights later the Puppy was throwing up, on Fri my husband ran her to the Vet and by 5pm he called and said she has the same problem AS OUR PUG & her numbers are higher then the Pug and said she needed to be rushed to an Animal Hospital and put on fluids ASAP, CALLED FRI TO WT OPENED ANOTHER CASE ON PUP. She went into the hospital Friday and came out Wed, yesterday my husband took her back because they wanted to recheck her, one number is higher so she needs to go back Mon for another check unless she gets sick this weekend.The bills on both are over $4000, the Pug cost us $450 and Penny was $350 so altogether it’s around $5000 because its another $133 for a recheck Mon. (THE 1ST CLAIMS LADY TOLD ME THERE’S A NUMBER OF REASON MY PUG COULD HAVE DIED, AFTER SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PUP SHE COULD OFFER ME A SMALL AMOUNT BUT IT WOULD BE NO WHERE NEAR WHAT WE PUT OUT ON BOTH, SHE ALSO SAID BECAUSE THE PUG WAS 10 HER VALUE WAS DOWN (NOT A USED CAR) SO i REFUSED TO DEAL WITH HER ANYMORE AND THEY GAVE ME A SECOND GIRL WHO IS BETTER BUT WE’LKL SEE WHAT SHE COMES BACK WITH NEXT WEEK.

An FDA document leaked this week from a confidential source within the US Congress details the chronological timeline of tests that the agency has performed on chicken jerky treats since 2007 – tests which many pet owners say have ignored some of the most potentially lethal substances possibly responsible for the rash of pet illnesses and deaths.